Politics

Open thread for night owls: Michael Flynn and his lawyers learn the hard way how not to do things

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Former federal prosecutor Ken White at The Atlantic writes—Note to Michael Flynn: Federal Court Is Not Twitter:
Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn on Tuesday got an unpleasant lesson on the difference between politically effective arguments a

Former federal prosecutor Ken White at The Atlantic writes—Note to Michael Flynn: Federal Court Is Not Twitter:
Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn on Tuesday got an unpleasant lesson on the difference between politically effective arguments and legally astute ones. Backed by an array of well-wishers including President Trump, and buoyed by widespread conservative arguments that the FBI had violated his rights, Flynn walked into a federal courtroom in Washington hoping for the probationary sentence that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had recommended. Instead he was threatened with jail by a furious United States District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who accused him of selling America out and forced him to retreat from his evasions. Flynn’s lawyers hastily agreed to delay the sentencing until March 2019 so that he might strive to cooperate further with the Special Counsel and perhaps work off the custodial sentence that Sullivan was clearly contemplating.
This may have been a shock to Flynn, but it was predictable to everyone who understands that federal court is neither Twitter nor a cable news show.[...]
For a year online conspiracy theorists and marginal publications have argued that Sullivan would dismiss the case because the government failed to turn over exculpatory material, or because his interview was conducted incorrectly. Since Flynn filed his sentencing brief, more mainstream outlets – including Fox News and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page – have taken up the cause, proclaiming that the FBI broke the law in its interview. Those arguments are, and have always been, errant nonsense, as any legal professional should know. Could it be that Flynn and his lawyers included the disastrous Flynn-as-victim pitch in their brief because they came to accept the partisan din – because they forgot that federal judges don’t react like people on Twitter? That would be a very 2018 way to go to federal prison.
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“Though Anne was born in Alabama and schooled in Mississippi, she had traveled North, and, like many Southerners, gained a theoretical understanding of the concept of cold. But the mind is an overprotective parent. What it doesn't care for, it hides. Like many inhabiting the subtropics, Anne had repressed the reality of subzero mercury.”
~~Kathy Reichs, Monday Mourning (2004)
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xBlack lung disease is killing thousands of miners. Regulators could have stopped it. - NPR https://t.co/nBxtxhBD4V— Tedi Grey Owl (@tedigreyowl) December 18, 2018
BLAST FROM THE PAST
On this date at Daily Kos in 2011—The failure of austerity:
The current fad is to declare that austerity, in the form of slashed budgets, slashed jobs, a slashed tax based and so on will magically produce the opposite of all those things, as wealthy benefactors rush in to spend all the new money you have given them, create jobs creating new products nobody can afford to buy, and, I don't know, start rebuilding infrastructure out of the goodness of their hearts. It is never clear, and nor is it honest: it is predicated on the danger of the Scary Deficit Monster, who was not at all scary during the time he was being fed by these same politicians and think-tank prophets, but who, like any false god, just happens to hate all the same things that his worshippers do.
In this case, the Scary Deficit Monster hates helping unemployed people, hates regulations (regardless of whether or not they save money), hates government in every form save the military, and especially hates it when well-off citizens are asked to pay the same rates they did a few decades ago, back during the dark, nearly apocalyptic 1980s or 1990s. That is damn nuanced policy for a mindless, frothing Deficit Monster, but it is consistent: the Deficit Monster hates anything Democrats might want and just happens to love all the ideas of the Heritage Foundation, etc., etc. And why not? Even a Deficit Monster ought to love its mother
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Politico sets a small fire with yet another AOC story. Russia targeted Mueller. Excitement builds for Flynn's sentencing, before it exploded. The Saudis are paying for the Yemen war like Mexico is paying for the wall. How was Flynn radicalized? With «stovepiping.»
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GOP representative is only person blocking bill to address violence against Native American women

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Savanna’s Act, a federal bill named after a 22-year-old Native American woman who was killed at eight months pregnant, has the potential to dramatically help Native American women in the U.S. Native American women suffer from disproportionate rates of viole

Savanna’s Act, a federal bill named after a 22-year-old Native American woman who was killed at eight months pregnant, has the potential to dramatically help Native American women in the U.S. Native American women suffer from disproportionate rates of violence (including domestic violence, sexual abuse, and going “missing”), and this bill would help address that violence by improving responses from the federal government.
Specifically, it would ensure that the Department of Justice trains law enforcement agencies on how to record tribal enrollment information in crime databases, as well as requiring the attorney general to get recommendations from tribes. This would improve access to federal, state, and local information databases, with the ultimate goal of creating guidelines for how to respond to the rampant violence against Native American women.
So, in short, an all-around amazing (and much needed) step forward. The question is: Why is Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte so opposed to it?
Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp, who is sponsoring the bill, recently called out Goodlatte on Twitter. Why? Because he’s the only (literally, only) person keeping this bill from progressing.
Savanna’s Act has already passed in the Senate, and unanimously at that. Sadly, it’s currently stuck in the House. If it isn’t passed by the end of this year, it will have to be reintroduced in January. This isn’t unusual, of course, but given that Heitkamp is not returning to Congress (she lost her re-election bid in November), it’s a huge deal.

Democrats plan to be very busy come January, because elections really do have consequences

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For the nearly two years of the Trump presidency, the Republican-controlled House’s idea of oversight was to investigate Hillary Clinton for being Hillary Clinton, and when it came to Trump, looking the other way. But starting on January 3, that crazy conce

For the nearly two years of the Trump presidency, the Republican-controlled House’s idea of oversight was to investigate Hillary Clinton for being Hillary Clinton, and when it came to Trump, looking the other way. But starting on January 3, that crazy concept of checks and balances will return to Washington when Democrats once again run the House of Representatives. And they plan to get busy immediately. Take Rep. Elijah Cummings, the Chairman-designate of the House Oversight Committee, who on Day One will have sent out a few letters.
Like one to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker “demanding the age, gender, country of origin and current location of every child who was separated from his or her parents under the Trump administration’s immigration policy.” And one to the White House counsel, demanding to know which White House officials “have used nongovernmental email accounts to conduct official business.” Then there will be the one to whoever is the White House chief of staff about “information and documents about the use of government-owned aircraft for personal travel and private aircraft for official travel.” And a sure-to-induce-rage letter to the Trump Organization “asking for a complete accounting of all the payments it has received from foreign governments or foreign-government-owned entities since Donald Trump’s election.” In other words, there will be a new sheriff in town. Or as Cummings put it:
“I’m not trying to do anything extraordinary. I’m trying to do what the Constitution says I’m supposed to do.”
At the same time, proving once again that it’s possible to walk and chew gum, soon-to-be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic majority will be jumping right in on health care, commonsense gun reform, «dark money» in politics, and restoring voting rights.
Checks and balances, government for the people … good times.

America's No.1! Republican tax cuts lead to a record $1,000,000,000,000 in stock buybacks

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When the Republican Party gave away billions to the richest people and companies in our country, they promised everyone that the big hole in revenue their tax breaks were going to create would be filled by all of the jobs and revenue being created by big busi

When the Republican Party gave away billions to the richest people and companies in our country, they promised everyone that the big hole in revenue their tax breaks were going to create would be filled by all of the jobs and revenue being created by big business. Everyone, except for the few hundred Republicans who voted to make this happen, said otherwise. In fact, even corporate CEOs said that this would not happen. The moment corporations counted up how much money they didn’t have to pay into America’s collective piggy bank, they began spending it on stock buybacks. Stock buybacks help to fill shareholders’ pockets in the short term. It’s like a Christmas bonus that makes everybody who is already pretty wealthy a little wealthier. Of course, we are America, goddamnit! So we do buybacks better than anybody!
US companies, led by Lowe's (LOW) and AbbVie (ABBV), rewarded shareholders by unveiling $34.4 billion in buybacks last week, according to TrimTabs Investment Research. That lifted repurchase announcements above $1 trillion for the first time ever, TrimTabs said, exceeding the prior record of $781 billion set in 2015.
The reason that tax cuts don’t work to stimulate growth in an already growing economy is that big business doesn’t care. Big business is only interested in profits. It develops its infrastructure and hires people based on that goal. Just ask giants like Verizon: they will tell you that they aren’t going to invest tax cuts in anything other than their own executives’ and shareholders’ pockets. Giving them tax breaks with zero strings attached results in them spending that money on making themselves wealthier. Period.

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In October 2017, shortly after it was revealed that Las Vegas right-wing white domestic terrorist Stephen Paddock used a bump stock adapter when he murdered 58 people at an outdoor festival, Republicans quickly offered their thoughts and prayers. Many peopl

In October 2017, shortly after it was revealed that Las Vegas right-wing white domestic terrorist Stephen Paddock used a bump stock adapter when he murdered 58 people at an outdoor festival, Republicans quickly offered their thoughts and prayers. Many people wondered whether or not the Republican Party, beholden to the NRA, would even make the almost meaningless gesture of banning bump stocks. Bump stocks are used to allow semi-automatic firearms to act more like fully-automatic machine gun-style firearms. On Tuesday, the Trump administration finally announced that it was banning the use of bump stocks.
Those who possess the devices, which make it easier to fire rounds from a semi-automatic weapon by harnessing the gun's recoil to «bump» the trigger faster, will have 90 days to turn in or otherwise destroy them from the date that the final rule is published in the federal register -- likely this Friday -- according to senior DOJ officials.
Of course, banning bump stocks alone is mostly just a gesture because the devices themselves only provide users some mechanical help in firing off the number of rounds that the gun itself can already fire, at a rate at which the gun can also already fire. It’s sort of like banning goggles at the pool to stop people from looking under water.
However, the gun lobby’s control over the Republican Party has been so strong that even Donald Trump has only mentioned possibly banning bump stocks every few weeks for over a year, while doing nothing until Tuesday. At least bump stocks are finally being banned! It is something.
Maybe Trump wanted to create a meaningless sideshow in order to keep Americans from simply paying attention to the bad news that is the Trump crime family?

Science

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Fitness and gaming have been two of the most popular categories of apps for years, and now a startup founded out of London that has combined the two in a unique way has picked up a big round of funding to capitalise on that. Zwift, an interactive platform fo

Fitness and gaming have been two of the most popular categories of apps for years, and now a startup founded out of London that has combined the two in a unique way has picked up a big round of funding to capitalise on that. Zwift, an interactive platform for people to turn indoor cycling workouts […]

Flux raises $7.5M Series A to bring its digital receipts platform to more banks and merchants

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Flux, the London fintech that has built a technology platform for banks and merchants to power itemised digital receipts and a lot more, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. The round is led by VC firm e.ventures (which has previously backed the like

Flux, the London fintech that has built a technology platform for banks and merchants to power itemised digital receipts and a lot more, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. The round is led by VC firm e.ventures (which has previously backed the likes of Farfetch, Sonos and Groupon), with participation from existing investors […]

PixelMe raises $1.3 million for its retargeting URL shortener

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Meet PixelMe, a new software-as-a-service startup that wants to help marketers retarget customers using an URL shortener. The company just raised a $1.3 million at a $4 million pre-money valuation — investors now own 22 percent of the company. PixelMe is ta

Meet PixelMe, a new software-as-a-service startup that wants to help marketers retarget customers using an URL shortener. The company just raised a $1.3 million at a $4 million pre-money valuation — investors now own 22 percent of the company. PixelMe is taking a Buffer approach by sharing many behind-the-scene details of the company’s journey. You […]

With trust destroyed, Facebook is haunted by old data deals

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As Facebook colonized the rest of the web with its functionality in hopes of fueling user growth, it built aggressive integrations with partners that are coming under newfound scrutiny through a deeply reported New York Times investigation. Some of what Face

As Facebook colonized the rest of the web with its functionality in hopes of fueling user growth, it built aggressive integrations with partners that are coming under newfound scrutiny through a deeply reported New York Times investigation. Some of what Facebook did was sloppy or unsettling, including forgetting to shut down APIs when it cancelled its […]

SoftBank Corp shares drop 14% on their first day of trading, but it’s still one of the largest IPOs ever

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SoftBank Corp’s initial public offering today started with a bang before trailing off into a whimper, with the stock falling 14.5 percent during its first day of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company is the mobile unit of conglomerate SoftBank Gr

SoftBank Corp’s initial public offering today started with a bang before trailing off into a whimper, with the stock falling 14.5 percent during its first day of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company is the mobile unit of conglomerate SoftBank Group, whose holdings also include Sprint and the $100 billion Vision Fund. Shares […]

Facebook purges more ‘bad actors’ in Myanmar but it still won’t commit to a local office

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As Facebook continues to grasp the severity of the situation in Myanmar, where the UN has concluded that its social network plays “determining role” in inciting genocide, the U.S. tech giant has completed a third sweep in recent months to remove b

As Facebook continues to grasp the severity of the situation in Myanmar, where the UN has concluded that its social network plays “determining role” in inciting genocide, the U.S. tech giant has completed a third sweep in recent months to remove bad actors from its platform. Facebook said late Tuesday U.S. time that it has […]

Roger Vivier Releases Cat Duet Film for the Holiday Season Starring Catherine Deneuve

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Coinciding with the launch of its Tres Vivier styles for the Holiday Season, is the launch of Roger Vivier’s film starring legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve and other colorful characters. Inspired by Rossini's famous performance piece “Duet for T

Coinciding with the launch of its Tres Vivier styles for the Holiday Season, is the launch of Roger Vivier’s film starring legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve and other colorful characters. Inspired by Rossini's famous performance piece “Duet for Two Cats” and directed by award-winning filmmaker, writer and music video director Michael Haussman, the juicy film tells the story of an eccentric Parisian family's Christmas celebration. Under the watchful eye of their mother, two twins turn a perfectly pleasant performance in front of the whole family into a vicious catfight over a pair of Tres Vivier pumps, as per an official release.As per the release, Deneuve, a style icon and muse of the Monsieur Vivier, plays the mother overseeing a special performance in her grand Parisian home: seated in front of a makeshift stage, the two twins, played by Nadia Tereszkiewicz, share the microphone for their rendition of the slow meowing duet by Rossini. As they sing, they notice only one wrapped box of Roger Vivier shoes resting on Catherine Deneuve's lap.According to the release, the performance quickly turns into a feral and cat-like fight. As the theatre stage becomes a metaphorical boxing ring, Catherine Deneuve becomes its symbolic ringleader. The clawing, rolling and pulling culminates in the theatre backdrop tumbling down over them. Trapped inside the rolled-up curtain, they are like two fighting cats caught in a bag. Smiling with a look of ironic pity on her face, Catherine Deneuve saves the day, sliding out from behind her chair another identical box of Roger Vivier shoes. Jubilant, the twins hold their shoes to their cheeks with pride.The fast-paced and humorous film set to the original cat duet music also features appearances by Roger Vivier creative director Gherardo Felloni and Couture and Oriental costume collector Cecilia Matteucci Lavarini, as per the release.According to the release, «Working with such an icon like Catherine Deneuve was a dream that finally came true in this film for Roger Vivier,» explains Gherardo Felloni. «The idea of women fighting for a desire object it is always been a creative reference to me, I love that irony, fun, passion. And it really works on screen to see Nadia, beautiful and young actress, acting like a cat on this music.»«When Gherardo explained me the project and the ironic plot, I was intrigued immediately. Playing a role according to the tempo of a song is something I had not done yet,» says Catherine Deneuve, as per the release.Click on the slideshow for a sneak peek at stills from the Cat Duet Film https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin

Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s First U.S. Project Breaks Ground

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Construction breaks ground on Monroe Blocks, Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s first US project. A mixed-use development featuring modern office space, residential units, restaurants, retail, and outdoor public areas, the project is coming up on the northeast corner

Construction breaks ground on Monroe Blocks, Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s first US project. A mixed-use development featuring modern office space, residential units, restaurants, retail, and outdoor public areas, the project is coming up on the northeast corner of Detroit, Michigan’s popular Campus Martius Park. Spanning two city blocks, the new development includes the first high-rise office tower to be built downtown in more than 25 years, as well as 4,800-square-metres of public outdoor space, according to the architects.Campus Martius Park, located a few blocks from the Detroit River, is famous for ice skating and outdoor concerts. “Along Monroe Street, one of the major thoroughfares that radiate from the park toward the surrounding suburbs, lies the masterplan project awarded to Schmidt Hammer Lassen by Bedrock, the largest real estate developer in downtown Detroit. Monroe Blocks is one of the most prominent addresses within Bedrock’s portfolio and a unique addition to Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s portfolio of projects,” states Schmidt Hammer Lassen website.The site will house a 35-story glass and terracotta office tower, a 17-story, 148-unit residential building, and a total of 66,000 square feet of retail space featuring signature shops and restaurants.According to Schmidt Hammer Lassen, when complete, the Monroe Blocks development will make an impact far beyond its near context — it will become a destination, an icon for the future development. “The new development will combine downtown Detroit’s first high-rise office tower in a generation with over 480 residential units. The development will re-establish historic alleyways, introducing new public plazas and green space while prioritizing the public realm both indoors and out.”The Monroe Blocks development is expected to complete in early 2022.Click on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the project. https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin

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The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) has announced the six winners of the 2019 Richard Rogers Fellowship. The 2019 fellows were chosen from nearly 140 applicants from around the world. The fellows have won a three-and-a-half-month residency at the Wimb

The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) has announced the six winners of the 2019 Richard Rogers Fellowship. The 2019 fellows were chosen from nearly 140 applicants from around the world. The fellows have won a three-and-a-half-month residency at the Wimbledon House, which was designed by Lord Richard Rogers for his parents in the late 1960s. Each fellow also receives travel expenses to London and a $10,000 cash prize. According to GSD, the six fellows will pursue research on issues ranging from materiality of steel and brick in the City of London to historical and multimedia investigations of the city’s estates, markets, and edges.New York’s Esther Choi and John Paul Rysavy have been chosen as Spring 2019 fellows. A PhD candidate in the History and Theory of Architecture and the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in the Humanities at Princeton University, Esther Choi received a Master of Arts in the History and Theory of Architecture from Princeton in 2014, and a Master in Design Studies from Harvard GSD in 2008. As an architect and Senior Associate at SHoP Architects in New York City, John Paul Rysavy has overseen work on the Botswana Innovation Hub, Uber Headquarters, Wave/Cave Pavilion, and US Embassy in Tegucigalpa. He is a recipient of the Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Grant from the Center for Architecture Foundation and the Francis J Plym Fellowship from the Illinois School of Architecture.The Summer 2019 fellows are Sarosh Anklesaria from Ithaca, New York, and Maria Letizia Garzoli from Trecate, Italy. An architect and educator, Sarosh Anklesaria has worked extensively as an architect with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York City, Herzog & de Meuron, Basel, and Sangath, the office of Balkrishna Doshi in Ahmedabad. Architect and researcher Maria Letizia Garzoli holds an architecture degree from the Politecnico di Milano and a Master in Design Studies from Harvard GSD. Currently, a researcher at Foster + Partners, she has previously worked at practices including Machado Silvetti and Johnston Marklee.Peter Christensen from New York and Michael Waldrep from Berlin have been selected as Fall 2019 fellows. Christensen is an Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Rochester. He earned a PhD from Harvard University in 2014. He specializes in modern architectural and environmental history, particularly of Germany, Central Europe, and the Middle East. Waldrep is a media artist and researcher focused on architecture and urban planning. He was selected as a member of the first generation of Fulbright — National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellows in 2014. Currently, he works in research and filmmaking at Studio Olafur Eliasson. https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin

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A milestone was reached recently at the 14th Annual Wrangler Tough Enough to Wear Pink (TETWP) Night at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The grassroots cowboy campaign has exceeded the 28 million dollar fundraising mark, as per an official release.“The c

A milestone was reached recently at the 14th Annual Wrangler Tough Enough to Wear Pink (TETWP) Night at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The grassroots cowboy campaign has exceeded the 28 million dollar fundraising mark, as per an official release.“The campaign was created in 2004 by Terry Wheatley, wine industry executive and matriarch of a professional rodeo cowboy family and Karl Stressman, former director of special events for Wrangler. The idea was to raise money and awareness for breast cancer by challenging rodeo competitors and fans alike to wear pink. Wrangler is the title sponsor of TETWP and a portion of proceeds from everything sold within the Wrangler Tough Enough to Wear Pink merchandise collection goes back to the campaign fund,” says the release.According to the release, along with the generous support of western businesses such as Wrangler, Montana Silversmiths, Las Vegas Events, Twisted X Boots, and Purple Cowboy Wines, Wrangler TETWP relies on the hard work of regional rodeos and western events across the country. The strength of the TETWP campaign is that funds raised stay local to benefit the community breast cancer charities. It is the dedication of volunteers on the ground at local events that drives the campaign.«When we started the Tough Enough To Wear Pink campaign in 2004, we were overwhelmed by the support from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, businesses, rodeo athletes, rodeo committees and western communities across the country. What seemed like an impossible dream to raise $50 million by our 20th Anniversary in 2024 is well on the way to becoming a reality,» commented Wheatley, herself a breast cancer survivor as per the release.As per the release, a notable example of the grassroots efforts is #1 PRCA rodeo fundraiser, Cattlemen's Days Rodeo in Gunnison, Colo. A long-time Top Five Wrangler TETWP fundraiser, the Gunnison community has raised more than 2.7 million dollars through the TETWP campaign to support the fight against breast cancer in their hometown.Founded 119 years ago in Gunnison Valley, Colo., Cattlemen's Days Rodeo is considered the «Granddaddy of Colorado Rodeos.» Through the Cattlemen's Days Rodeo, the community has shown its steadfast commitment to providing local funding for breast cancer awareness, prevention, education, support, breast screenings and equipment, according to the release.As per the release, Lacey Wheatley, Terry Wheatley's daughter-in-law, is the Director of Wrangler TETWP and coordinates with rodeos and other non-rodeo organizations to create the pink-themed fundraisers.Click on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the campaign https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin

Ostberg weighing up partial World RX programme after test

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The Norwegian drove an ES Motorsport Skoda Fabia Supercar at former World RX venue Mettet as he assesses his options for next season. “It was a lot of fun to be honest, I really enjoyed it,” Ostberg told Motorsport.com. “I’ve seen events and I’ve b

The Norwegian drove an ES Motorsport Skoda Fabia Supercar at former World RX venue Mettet as he assesses his options for next season. “It was a lot of fun to be honest, I really enjoyed it,” Ostberg told Motorsport.com. “I’ve seen events and I’ve been on a few [rallycross] tracks but always with a rally car, so this was the first time I drove a Supercar. "But okay, the WRC cars ... Keep reading

Renault surprised not to fight McLaren in 2018

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When McLaren signed a deal to switch to Renault from Honda for the start of the 2018 campaign, many expected that the Woking-based team would be fighting for podiums and even wins. However, a fundamental aero problem with the team's MCL33 left the outfit stru

When McLaren signed a deal to switch to Renault from Honda for the start of the 2018 campaign, many expected that the Woking-based team would be fighting for podiums and even wins. However, a fundamental aero problem with the team's MCL33 left the outfit struggling for performance and its form fell away over the course of the season. That left the way open for Haas to emerge as one of the ... Keep reading